I Don't Want a Throne

Chapter 12- Wasted Time

Loki's heart stopped as Nebula strode into view. She certainly wasn't the strongest of Thanos's children, nor was she the most dangerous, but she was a force to be reckoned with. She had that desperation to be loved, to be the favorite child and that made her more ruthless than the others in a way. She had two long deadly looking swords in hand and though they hung at her sides, it didn't minimize the threat she posed to them.

"Nebula," Loki said, putting out a hand and backing up a tiny step, "Just let us go. You can pretend you never saw us." He knew it wouldn't work, but he had to try something. She reminded him so much of himself that it was hard for him to just attack her without so much as attempting to get by nonviolently first.

She sneered at him and drew nearer. "You're a traitor and a deserter. Thanos took you in as one of his own and you repay him like this! Disgusting!"

Loki shook his head frantically, "Nebula, that isn't what happened and you know it! He captured me and held me as his captive!"

"He saved your life!" She spat. "He could have let you die out there, but he didn't. You owe him."

"No, I don't." Loki growled, his voice hardening. There was no reasoning with her, not yet anyway. She was so trapped in the belief that Thanos was good, right, deserving of her devotion and unwavering loyalty.

Several sets of heavy footfalls sounded nearby and Loki knew that backup was arriving. She'd already alerted them to the intruders. From the sound of it, there were dozens of soldiers approaching, the three of them didn't stand a chance, not without summoning the wrath of Thanos upon themselves.

Thor and Stark looked ready to fight, unaware of how doomed they would be as soon as the first blow was struck.

"You are a coward, Loki." Nebula hissed. "But you are not stupid, you know better than to try and fight your way out of this. Surrender now and perhaps your brother will be spared."

Loki's gaze flicked over to his brother, still prepared for battle. But it was Stark's knowing look that gave him pause. Stark was seeing Loki's last encounter with Thanos from the hologram. He was seeing Loki sacrifice everything to spare his brother. And he knew that it was about to happen again. Barely perceptibly, Stark shook his head.

Loki blinked hard and turned back to face Nebula. Deliberately he raised his hands over his head and said, "I surrender."

Thor hid his surprise quickly and relaxed his stance, dropping Mjölnir down to his side to appear less threatening. Stark groaned but lowered his hands and powered down his repulsors.

Nebula grinned wickedly. "Good. I'm sure Thanos will be very interested to see you." As Nebula's backup arrived, two dozen armored soldiers with large gleaming blasters, she signaled them to their surrender. "Come along then." She snarled and started down the hall Loki and the others had come from. She didn't bother with manacles as the three followed her on the path Loki knew would eventually bring them to Thanos's throne room. With all of those soldiers flanking them, there was no chance of fighting their way out. Their only advantage laid in the fact that Nebula didn't know they had the Tesseract in their possession.

Their journey only took about ten minutes. Sure enough they were being led to Thanos's throne room. Loki wondered if Romanoff and Rogers were having better luck than they were. Maybe they hadn't been found out yet. They were smart, especially Romanoff. If they'd kept their wits about them then they may have managed to evade capture.

The doors to the throne room creaked open and the sprawling room came into view. Loki had always thought that it was a horrible waste of space, as most of the room was entirely bare. In fact the only thing in the room was Thanos's throne, which he was currently occupying. Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive stood on either side of Thanos, framing him like a king. It was a total power play, meant to intimidate his prisoners. And, though Loki wouldn't admit it, it was working.